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Registration for Syria's contentious June 3 presidential vote was wrapped up Thursday with 24 contenders, including incumbent President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Syrian parliament.

Parliament Speaker Jihad al-Laham announced the names of the last seven people who have registered their candidacies at the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) before the deadline of Thursday afternoon.

The 10-day registration for the elections started on April 22, triggering a barrage of criticism by the opposition and their Western backers.

The head of the SCC, Judge Adnan Zuraiq, was quoted by state news agency SANA as saying that the applications of the 24 contenders are going to be studied by the court in accordance with the electoral law and constitution.

Initial results will come out in five days, Zuraiq said.

By law, each runner for the elections must secure the backing of 35 parliamentarians of the 254-member parliament, a condition limiting the number of those who would eventually be declared candidates as each lawmaker is permitted to back one candidate only.

Voting for Syrians inside the country will start on June 3, while those overseas will cast their votes on May 28.

Opposition groups inside and outside Syria have criticized the decision to hold the presidential elections amid the current civil war in the country. More than 150,000 people have been killed and one third of the population displaced in grinding clashes between government troops and armed militant groups.

They also said that millions of Syrians are displaced in neighboring countries, many of whom don't have access to basic necessities, let alone access to polling stations.